Eraser
by tmcala
Summary: To erase. To obliterate. To wipe out. That is not what her job was about. And she will never be erased.


**A/N: This has been bouncing around in my head for a while. So I thought, why not? Hope you enjoy!**

Erasing. She'd been accused of that once. She pulled that switch so many times in her 4 years, there is no way she could remember every face that walked into that chamber. But there are a few she will always remember, until someone pulls that switch for her. A girl, barely graduated from Arctic Training, on her knees begging, pleading, "Please, don't erase my brother, please!" For a second, her fingers had stiffened on the switch, but eventually, it came down. Because it was her _job_. And she would always do her job.

It hadn't been easy to watch the memories of operatives disappear in a flash. It never got any easier, even after nearly 4 years. It wasn't so bad when it was someone she'd never met, but soon she had to chase down allies, friends. And it was painful, always so painful, to watch the strongest people she would ever know become desperate with fear. But she would close her eyes and pull that switch, and out would come a person she had never known in her life. As her own time left went from a year to a few weeks, she was replaced.

Not everyone can do the job. It takes a special kind of person. Not a heartless person, as many would think. She is not heartless. She had no choice but to be the way she is, the first lesson they taught her was that most would not come willingly. It takes a fearless person. A strong person. Someone who could see the fear in a friend's eyes and not cave. Someone who would be unswervingly, irrevocably loyal. But still, as the days lessen, it is tradition to find a replacement. These special people are rarely as devoted as they seem.

They all expect the same from her; there has never been an operative in her post that did not cause a riot when their time came. These are the people that fear it the most. She is different. She does not fear the chamber just because she knows its secrets or just because by now she has sent most of her friends into its depths. Of course, she is scared, who would be otherwise? But she will not ever betray those who have served alongside her. And so, she will not run. It will surprise her replacement. She laughs as she pictures his (of course, they just had to pick a boy) face when he finds her in the first place he looks. It would be so easy for her to run; they have nothing up their sleeves for she knows all their tricks. But, the idea makes her stomach churn.

This most respected position has changed her, she realizes. She is no longer the young girl who wanted nothing more than to be a nurse. She is still a child, God forbid that she ever becomes anything else, but she is wise beyond her years. Having seen every operative over the last four years at their weakest point, rock bottom, can do that to someone. She has seen some cry, some fight, some become withdrawn, some hold their heads high. And so, so many run. Those who leave with dignity, knowing that the switch will be pulled for everyone some day, live on in the memories of all. Many details are lost to time, names, looks, but that number will always be regarded with respect. That can never be erased.

Now her weeks have become days and the days, minutes. That chamber looms in front of her. She is not tempted to run. Her time is up. She fought this fight for 6 years and it is someone else's turn now. She nods curtly at her replacement. He is surprised and upset; she was right. He had been expecting an exciting chase, but received nothing of the sort. She walks toward her future with her head held so very high. The last anyone sees of this girl, who gave so much to the organization she loved, is a flash of fire-colored hair. He pulls the same switch she has pulled uncountable times. Moments later, a girl with the same hair walks out. She is Fanny Fulbright, and no one knows her. But, in the memories of the KND, Numbuh 86 can never be erased.

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**A/N: Okay, this is the last thing I will post until a chapter of one of my chaptered fics. I've been slacking on those. haha**


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